


Saving the hunter

by Mrs_Patterson



Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Character Bleed, F/F, F/M, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt, M/M, Major Character Injury, Medical Procedures, Medical Trauma, Possible Character Death, Serious Injuries, Survival, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-09-30 15:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17226557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Patterson/pseuds/Mrs_Patterson
Summary: Kapkan is gravely injured during a mission. He took a bullet to the abdomen and the bleeding can't be stopped.As his time is running out, Twitch steps up to save him and takes drastic actions.





	1. a cause for concern

Team Rainbow was on a mission in the french alps. Terrorists had chosen a chalet in Courchevel as their hiding spot and Kapkan had been sent out along with Twitch, Sledge, Jäger and Pulse. Thatcher was the head of mission and his assignment had been quite clear: Five in, five out. Taking down every hostile operative, securing possible evidence of terrorist activity and a quick retreat via helicopter. Intel had been good, whole mission should be completed in less than 5 minutes. „A piece of cake“, as Thatcher had concluded his briefing. 

The mission had run smoothly, the five operators had wiped out the majority of the white masks in an instance. Only a handful of hostiles offered resistance and got the team involved in a firefight. Kapkan managed to withdraw from the commotion to hunt down a single tango that caught his attention. He had seen his opponent’s shadow out of the corner of his eyes and his hunting instinct took over. He managed to get the white mask right in his line of fire and with a single precision shot the man went down. Kapkan was self-satisfied to say the least, but his smug grin didn’t last long. The russian hunter prided himself to be alert at all times, and while this was especially true when on missions, he had missed a vital information. The white mask he had pursued had not been alone. Another hostile had hid beneath the fireplace. When Kapkan saw the white mask running towards him, he pointed his SASG-12 at the man und pulled the trigger. He felt a stabbing pain and before he knew what had happened he was falling to the ground. Something had knocked him off his balance. He was thrown to his back and realized in horror that he had missed the person shooting at him. Kapkan raised his shotgun and managed to kill his opponent with a single headshot before turning his attention to the source of his severe discomfort. A red stain had formed on the sand colored part of his combat trousers but he was pretty sure that the source of bleeding wasn’t his leg. A variety of russian swear words escaped Kapkan’s mouth as he began to search for the entry wound. Definitely didn’t take a bullet to the leg. He began unfastening his bulletproof waistcoat with bloodied fingers. He peeked down his Gorka suit and tried to figure out what damage had been done to his body. He ripped the top open only to find a bullet hole in his lower abdomen. This was bad. He put his left hand on the wound and crawled towards the nearest wall. He leaned back and exhaled strained. His breath was going heavier than usual. With his left hand pressed on his side he used his remaining hand to operate his comms, spreading half-dried blood on his cheek. „Operator down. Took a shot in the abdomen", he informed his team members. As the gun fire was still going on, he didn’t expect an immediate response but he got one. "Take cover, return fire and provide first aid if possible!", Jäger shouted over the comms. Kapkan rested his head against the wall before answering: "Trying my best. As long as the adrenaline covers the pain I will hold the fort." He drew his PMM and checked the ammunition. He felt safer using a lighter weapon in his current state. Kapkan still had his hand on the wound and kept an eye on his surrounding. Not being able to flee made him feel vulnerable and kept him at alert. He just hoped that the mission would be finished before the adrenaline level in his blood dropped. Being an expert on firearms didn’t make getting shot any more pleasant. It was actually quite the opposite. He had seen enough of his comrades die from shots to the stomach and he knew it would be extremely painful once the endogenous protection stopped working. If he was honest, he felt the first indications of something close to pain but he was to proud to give in yet. He pushed the thought away and focused on any movement in his vicinity. The gun fire was still going on in the rest of the building but seemed to die down when Kapkan heart his comms click." Almost done here, I'll pick you up as soon as I can Kapkan", came a familiar voice over the transmitter. It was Sledge, the sturdy Scotsman. Kapkan sighed in relief. Even if he didn’t want to show it, the injury was taking its toll on him. Sitting up had become quite a task for him in the past few minutes. He took a moment to look down to his left hand. Blood kept seeping through his fingers and as self-sufficient as he was, he knew he needed medical attention. As he had received basic medical training and was familiar with the procedures of tactical combat casualty care he began estimating the amount of blood he had lost. And as Doc kept preaching about the golden hour of shock, he was well aware that time was working against him. „A casualty’s chances of survival were best if they received medical attention within the first hour after sustaining a serious injury.“ He almost could hear Doc lecture him. Kapkan hasn’t exactly happy about this insights but he had a very strong instinct for survival and no intentions to die in a goddamn chalet in France. 

Suddenly he heard steps coming into his direction and immediately raised his weapon. "Don't shoot me, I'm here to rescue you!". It was Sledge. Kapkan lowered his weapon in relief. "Let me see this!“ Sledge kneeled down to take a look at the wound. He carefully lifted the bulletproof waistcoat and earned a sharp inhale and a deadly glare from Kapkan. He lifted the ripped fabric nonetheless." You lucky bastard, that shot passed clean through.", he grinned. "Seamus, you really know how to cheer people up", Kapkan answered through gritted teeth, but he knew it was a good sign. The easier a bullet passed through a body, the lesser the impact. But of course the Spetznas member still knew the abdomen was a bad place to catch a bullet. Kapkan was cursing internally, trying not to show his pain. "I really need to get him out of here as long as he is capable of joking. Can't be long now until the situation changes", the Scotsman thought to himself. „Can you walk?", he asked. He helped Kapkan get up and put his hand around his shoulders to support him walking. After a few steps Seamus noticed that Maxim sank down with every step and was breathing hard. „Oi, mate, you’re not dying on me, right?“, he turned his head to look the hunter into the eyes. „Haven’t decided yet“, the russian gave a strained grin. The scotsman knew that Kapkan was a fighter, he had proven to be one before. He was definitely holding up pretty good for the severity of his injury. But there was just no use, Sledge knew he had to carry Kapkan and his equipment plus his own gear to the helicopter landing zone. The tall SAS member lifted his fellow comrade over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry and made his way outside towards the fixed helicopter landing point. Sledge felt the warm blood running down his shoulders and he heard that Kapkan’s groaning was as quiet as it had been in the beginning. The pain had definitely set in and it wouldn’t get any better. Sledge almost felt bad for having to put his fellow team member through this ordeal as he trotted through the snow. Finally the helicopter was in sight. Pulse, Twitch and Jäger were waiting for them and Twitch had already prepared a blanket to isolate the casualty from the cold ground. Sledge carefully laid Kapkan down in the helicopter and placed him on the blanket. Twitch gave him a knowing look as they got on the helicopter. The golden hour of shock was running, they needed to get Kapkan medical attention in order to increase his chances of survival.


	2. threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight for Kapkan's life begins.

The helicopter was cramped. With Kapkan lying on the ground, there wasn’t much room left for the other operators to move around him. As soon as the helicopter had left the ground, hectic rush erupted. The cabin of the helicopter was so cold that every breath left little white puffs in the air. „Blood sweep! Blood sweep!“, Sledge yelled over the noise of the helicopter and everybody got to work as quick as possible. It was Twitch who took the initiative and started attending Kapkan's wound. Quickly she had put on medical gloves, removed Kapkan's bulletproof waistcoat and started cutting up his Gorka suit. As the ambient temperature was extremely cold, she tried to keep as much of the suit intact as possible. She knew that a low body tempertature was dangerous in Kapkan’s state and gestured to Pulse to get her a rescue blanket. When Twitch reached the jacket of Kapkan’s gorka suit it was already soaked with blood despite their attempt to stop the bleeding with pressure. Twitch ran her hands down Kapkan’s body, checking her hands for any signs of blood every few inches. She couldn’t find any other injury on Kapkan’s body. "It's a penetrating gunshot wound, there is no bullet in his body", Sledge shouted through his headset. Twitch gave him a thumb up sign as response and returned her attention to Kapkan. This was indeed a very good sign but looking into Kapkan's eyes she knew that his condition had worstened dramatically in the past few minutes since he reported being hit. 

Maxim was lying on his back. His breath ascended into the air as white puffs and he was shaking. Looking up to his fellow team mates he could see them operating busily around him. Twitch was bend over his torso, unfastening his bulletproof vest and removing it. She then cut open his combat suit and started performing a blood sweep. Her face was tense, a single strand of brown hair plastered to her face. She finally handed a pair of gloves and dressing material to Pulse while she wrapped him up in a rescue blanket. He took a deep breath, knowing that everything that happened from now on would be extremely painful, but he was not prepared for the excruciating pain that followed.

Twitch handed a pair of gloves and gauze over to Pulse and ordered him to apply firm pressure on the wound in order to stop the bleeding. But before they started she removed all weapons from the wounded soldier’s reach as a routine procedure. You never knew.  
As soon as Pulse had touched Kapkan's abdomen the Speznas member started writhing and cried out in agony. He clenched his fists and tried to get rid of his team mates by kicking his legs. His screams could be heard over the noise of the helicopter. Sledge got hold of his legs and pressed them to the ground while Jäger simultaneously managed to immobilize Kapkan's arms. Maxim looked at them round-eyed, sweat pouring down his forehead. He was shouting repeatedly "Don't touche me! Don't touch me!" through gritted teeth. The situation had changed for the worst in the past minutes and Twitch had the sense that this was not the end of his downturn. She sat on bended legs and had Kapkan's head placed on her tights. She ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to calm him down. „I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!“, she told Kapkan again and again, her words almost lost over the noise of the helicopter and probably not reaching the russian in his state of mind. He kept screaming for his team mates to let go of him, switching to russian every now and then, still fighting and struggling to free himself from Sledge’s and Jäger’s grip. He was not calming down the slightest and Twitch wondered where he took the energy from. When she looked down at her injured team mate, his face white and contorted in pain, his eyes wide open, Twitch couldn’t help but think that he looked like a trapped animal. He needed to save his energy and get his heart rate down. Twitch reached down to her injured team mate, embraced his face with both arms and held it against her upper body. It took some awfully long moments but she finally managed to stop Kapkan from crying until there was only an almost inaudible wailing left and he rested his head on her forearm. His stubbled cheeks grazed her wrists but she couldn’t care less. Twitch was already covered in sweat, her heart was beating faster. It felt like ages since they got on the helicopter even though it had only been a few minutes and they still had a long way to go.   
Jäger reported through his headphone that there was still blood flowing through the drained gauze. There was a blood stain building up on the floor where there should be none, the bleeding should have stopped a long time ago. Kapkan was bleeding out and looking at his face she knew that he knew. 

Twitch needed to get Kapkan medical attention as quick as possible but knew quite well that they were in the middle of nowhere. She decided to contact Thatcher as the head of the mission in Hereford Base. "Thatcher, we are dealing with a casualty. Kapkan was hit and it's not looking good. I need permission to head to the next hospital" The answer came immediately: “You are heading straight to Hereford base. We will take care of him in our infirmary.“, Thatcher informed her over the comms and Twitch swallowed hard. She knew this was an order, but she couldn’t accept it. "This flight is taking at least 3 hours and I don't think that he has even one left!".  
"Emmanuelle, we can't do this. Head back to Hereford, we will prepare everything." Twitch couldn’t believe it and felt hot anger boiling inside of her." I don't think you understand what I just told you. We're losing Maxim, he cannot wait for medical treatment. Look, I'm not being picky. Whether it's the Swiss, Germany or France - I'll accept everything. But you have to give permission for an intermediate landing!", she demanded. "We have a member of a russian special forces unit on a covert operation in France. This will cause an international incident. We are no official allies, we can't do that." Twitch was furious, she had to find a way to get Kapkan the urgently needed medical attention. Thoughts were racing through her head when she had a sudden idea.  
"We need Doc!" she shouted into her microphone. He was the only one who can help them now. Gustave 'Doc' Kateb was currently continuing medical training in his home country and as another member of Team Rainbow he could possibly treat Kapkan.  
"Doc is right now under french GIGN command. I have no authority here.", came Thatcher’s answer. "But we both know who does. Call Six! You are the head of mission, make it possible or you'll lose more than one rainbow member!“


	3. keep fighting

"Look at Kapkan", Jäger said nodding towards their injured colleague. The Russian had turned pale, his lips were blue and his skin was clammy. "Shit" was the only thing that Twitch thought. She knew what that meant. Hemorrhagig shock. The french woman bent down, getting her head as close to Kapkan's as possible, shouting over the noise of the helicopter. "How are you feeling?" It took Kapkan some time to give an answer but he finally managed to give her a thumbs up sign. Twitch was aware that his consciousness was clouding and it was not a good sign. Kapkan wanted to make her believe that he was fine, but given the time he needed to formulate an answer she could hardly believe that. She formed a thumbs up sign in return. "You are doing great, way to go!" Looking down at the tall Russian she observed that his state of health kept on decreasing. His breath was now rapid and shallow, his eyes half closed. If she didn't take action there was no way this would turn out well. She tried to smile at him. "Maxim, look at me! Look at me! You need to calm your breathing. Can you do that for me?... Keep breathing... You're doing a great job! Keep it up!" 

She could feel the worried looks of Jäger, Sledge and Pulse piercing right through her. She was pretty close to exhausting her limited possibilities and the only thing left to do was calming Kapkan down for as long as possible.   
Twitch heard her headset clicking, it was Thatcher. "You are right now heading to a military hospital in France. Doc will be there as well. Six made some arrangements."   
She felt an enormous relief and let out a long sigh.   
"When will we arrive there?"  
"Should be a few minutes. Doc is right now bound for the hospital via helicopter, he'll meet you there. He has already received Kapkan's medical record and will take over at the hospital. The remaining members of team rainbow will then continue to Hereford base. Meet me there for a disciplinary consultation."  
"Understood. Is there anything else?"  
"Yes. Doc would like to speak to you, I'll put him through. And Emmanuelle... We all wish you the very best. Good luck.", With that, her comm clicked again and Thatcher was out.

The next thing Twitch heard was Docs voice on her headset. "Doc speaking, what is happening?" Twitch went for the short version: "Kapkan got shot in the abdomen about 20 minutes ago. We performed a blood sweep and found a single penetrating gunshot wound. We applied direct pressure to the wound... Slowed the bleeding but couldn’t stop it. Patient is still bleeding and in intense pain."   
"He is still bleeding?" "Yes", Twitch confirmed over her headset."Okay. Is he conscious?"  
"He is awake but I'm not sure how much longer he can manage to stay conscious."  
Doc tried to assess the situation."Is he responsive?""His responsiveness is decreasing. "Does he show other symptoms of shock?", Doc wanted to know. Twitch had sent enough time with Doc to enumerate the signs of shock. "Cold, clammy skin, excessive perspiration , shallow breathing, blue lips. His vital signs are worstening. And I’m afraid anxiety is setting in." "Take a deep breath Emmanuelle! We'll sort it out... Are you breathing? Feeling better? Okay... Let’s go to town. There should be a bagpack behind the front seats. Is there a bagpack?" Twitch turned around and rummaged through the issued supply in the helicopter. "I found the bagpack!", she finally exclaimed. Doc began to explain: "I will guide you through this but you need to listen very carefully. There is medications in there that need to be handled with care. You are looking for ketamine and midazolam. Ketamine first. You'll need 80 to 100mg. Do you understand?“  
Twitch went through the medical supply until she found what she was looking for and let Doc know that she found the ketamine. "I found it!""Is it the right amount? This is very important"  
"It's 100 mg", Twitch affirmed and the medic continued: "Okay. This is going to knock him out while stabilizing his vital functions. But you need to explain to Kapkan what you're doing. That you'll help him handle the pain and that he is on his way to the nearest military hospital. Once the medication kicks in he will not be able to understand this anymore."

Twitch bend over to Kapkans ear: "Maxim, we are now heading to the nearest hospital. You'll be fine! I've got something to help you deal with the pain. Do you understand that?" Kapkan looked up at Twitch. He was pale and breathing heavy but finally managed to nod weakly before his eyes closed again. The french woman hoped that they weren’t too late to help their team mate. Kapkan was showing late signs of shock. He needed immediate medical help or he might not make it to the hospital.

"Okay Doc, I explained to him what we'll be doing. What now?", she inquired. „You need to inject it into his muscle.""You want me to do what? This has to be done by a medic!", Twitch objected but Doc was not having it. "Emma, you are the medic now! 100 mg into his thigh!"

"Maxim, I'm so sorry.", she ran through his hair one last time before she got up carefully, crawled towards Kapkan's thighs, folded back the rescue blanket and sank the tip of the syringe into his leg. Kapkan jerked and grit his teeth. "You'll be fine. It won't be long now, I promise", Twitch assured, before turning her attention to her headset again."It's done Doc! Really hope it will take effect as soon as possible." "It will... might take about 5 minutes. Now take a marker and note time and medication on Kapkan's forehead... Are you done? Then we'll continue with the Midazolam. 10mg intramuscular into the thigh and write it down.", the french medic ordered. Twitch complied immediately and sank another syringe into her team mates thigh. "Done!"

"Very good Emmanuelle! There is still something very important you should do. Get Kapkan hearing protection. He might get scared or agitated. You need to protect him from loud noises. After that, you're actually done. ", Doc stated softly.  
"What do you mean, I'm done?", Twitch asked incredulously.  
"You provided the best care possible for Kapkan. Now you take care of him until the medication works and that's it. I'll take over at the hospital. I just want you to monitor him until the actual impact occurs. Don't worry, it might look dangerous but he should be fine. The pain will fade away and so will his consciousness. Take care of Kapkan, I'll come back to you in a few minutes.I'll provide support as long as possible"

Twitch sat down next to Kapkan's head and carefully rested his head on her legs. "Can you hear me? You'll be feeling better soon, I promise. You have received medication that will ease your pain. Just relax, everything is fine. You have done a great job, but now you can let go. I'll put on hearing protection and we'll see you later."   
"See you later", Kapkan answered jaded, his eyes half-closed and his speech slurred.  
Twitch perceived that he had already started to withdraw while she stroked his hair. 

Just a few minutes later Doc got in touch with Twitch again. "Emmanuelle, what have we got?""I guess his mind is completely elsewhere", she informed Doc over headset. "The best place it can be right now. Shouldn't be long now until you reach the hospital. How are you feeling?", he asked. "I'm fine."  
"Who is with you?"  
"Jäger, Sledge and Pulse"  
"How are they holding up?"  
"I guess they are all right... Gustave, can you please just hold the line?"  
"Sure, I told you I'll stay with you until disembarking."  
"Could you please tell me something? Anything?"  
"What would you like to hear?"  
"I would love to hear that everything will be fine, that Kapkan will be fine. That we'll all be heading home very soon"  
"That would be really nice, wouldn't it?"  
"Yes", Twitch had to bite back her tears.  
"You'll be home in a few hours. And Maxim will follow soon after, probably talking about a few days. He will be taken care of until he is transportable and then will be send to Hereford as soon as possible. Until he is back with the team I'll make sure that he is fine. And if thing are running smoothly I’m heading back to Hereford with Maxim."  
„You mean.. like... if he makes it?“  
„No, I mean if I get discharged from GIGN duty I will transfer Maxim to Hereford and stay for the next months.“  
„Are you serious? That would be great!“  
„Don’t get too excited yet, it depends on different factors. Let’s see what Six can do“  
„Given what is just happening here... She has to be the most powerful woman on earth.“  
„Yeah, I think this rescue operation is unique in the history of team rainbow. Really wonder what made her consider this.“  
„I guess Thatcher was very convincing.“  
„If you say so... Looks like this helicopter is reaching the hospital in a few minutes. How is Maxim? Does he need another shot of ketamine?“  
„I don’t know, does he?“  
„The effect of ketamine wears of really quick, but if you think he is fine then we’ll simply take care of it at the hospital.“  
„He looks okay to me, but it’s difficult to assess.“  
„You’ve made it this far, I trust your judgement. However if his condition is altering in the next minutes, write down what you give him and when. I’m ready for disembarking, see you in a few minutes. Well done, Emmanuelle.“

Twitch took a deep breath. Doc had the amazing ability to calm people down and build them up. Being connected to him via headset had relieved the strain. She told Pulse, Sledge and Jäger that Doc had landed at the hospital and that they would soon arrive as well. Pulse, who had been applying pressure to Kapkan’s abdomen for almost half an hour was looking tired and weary. „You’re almost there Jack, not long now.“ Kapkan was still looking basically unconscious. „Sledge, Jäger, what do you think? Is he okay? Ketamine is still working?“, she asked her fellow team mates. They both took a quick glance at Kapkan. „Seems okay“, Jäger stated. „Guess he’s well – under the circumstances“, Sledge added. „Jack, what do you think? You are the expert on reading people“, Twitch asked Pulse. „Not much to read here but the seems stable. Besides, overdosing on ketamine is not funny. If there is a chance we can make it to the hospital without further intervention we should do that by all means.“ Twitch formed a thumbs up sign, nodding. She was really hoping that they would reach the hospital in time, the pressure rested heavy on her shoulders. Luckily the pilot let the team know that they were going in for a landing shortly after.

When the helicopter had landed, a group of four people approached the helicopter. One of them was Doc. Twitch has never been so happy to see him. They carried Kapkan out of the helicopter and quickly put him on a stretcher. Twitch shoutet „Doc, just let us know...“, but she fell silent. The noise of the helicopter was too loud and they were already rushing Kapkan inside.


	4. waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team is headed back to base and waits for news concerning Kapkan

Before Twitch knew it the helicopter was rising and continued their homeward journey.   
She exhaled deeply and leaned back. It was if she was slowly coming back to her senses. A sharp pain seared through her legs as the blood started circulating again after sitting on bended legs for so long. Twitch realized that she was sweaty, covered in Kapkan’s blood and that her gear was unbearably heavy. Her hands were shaking when she tried to take off her bulletproof waistcoat. Sledge stepped in and gave her a hand. „You are shaking, let me help you.“ Twitch saw that she was still wearing her medical gloves and removed them slowly. Jäger wrapped Twitch into a reflective blanket to keep her warm and Pulse gave her a bottle of water. „Need to stay hydrated, this will help“, Pulse stated. He was drenched in sweat and his arms were as heavy as lead. Even though he had stripped off the gloves, his wrists were stained in dark brown, clotted blood. They were quiet, everyone occupied with their own fatigue and different thoughts running through their heads. The ground of the helicopter was covered in blood, gauze and rags and shreds of Maxim’s combat suit. When Sledge looked over to Twitch, she was still shaking. He didn’t know whether she was trembling from shock, exhaustion or because she was cold in her sweat soaked cloths, he simply pulled her close. She smiled at him thankfully and rested her head on his shoulder.

When the helicopter landed at Hereford they got off as quick as possible. Everyone of them had their own way of dealing with what had happened during the mission but before being called for debriefing, they definetely wanted a shower and some tranquility. „Baker’s waiting over there“, Jäger stated, slightly nodding his head in Thatcher’s direction. „I’m not in the mood“, Twitch growled. „Don’t get yourself in any more trouble than neccessary.“, Sledge said. „Better listen to what he has to say and adress it when tempers have cooled“. „Listen to Sledge, old man can get grumpy.“, Pulse agreed. „Do you think he has told the team yet?“, Jäger asked. „Not sure, usually doesn’t like giving information before he has got a general summary of events.“, Sledge answered vaguely. „We’ll know in a second.“, Pulse said as they took the last steps towards Thatcher. The SAS veteran and head of mission had waited for the team to arrive. „Welcome back to Hereford Base. You got the rest of the day off, debriefing is deferred until tomorrow. I’ll let you know if there’s any news concerning Maxim. Now get inside.“, was his short welcome before he turned to leave.

„Phew, he let us off lightly.“, Jäger stated. „He hasn’t decided yet how to handle the incident“, Pulse assumed. „Guess he will be busy all night working things out with Six.“, Sledge reckonned. „It’s going to be long night for all of us“, Twitch said, looking over the main building. „ We are now close enough so that the other members will recognize that we’re missing someone. If anybody is willing to tell them, volunteers before!“, she said mockingly. „Relax, Emmanuelle. They are just as worried as we are. I can handle that if you want me to“, Sledge came forward. 

They made their way to the entrance with sloping shoulders. Twitch sincerely hoped that they wouldn’t see anyone until they reached their rooms. She definitely didn’t want to deal with worried team mates but her wish was not granted. When they got up the stairs, they saw Tachanka leaning against the wall. He must have been waiting for them. „Where is Maxim?“, he asked angrily with his strong russian accent. They all looked at Sledge, who made a step forward. He was certainly not in an enviable situation, but his natural leadership qualities predestined him for this conversation.  
Tachanka looked at him waiting. While he had proven to remain calm in crises and his demeanor would not give away how he felt, Maxim mattered to him. Sledge knew that he had to choose his words wisely and quick, otherwise Tachanka would start making assumptions. „Alexsandr, it’s good to see you. I wanted to talk to you about Maxim. He got wounded, but we don’t know the extent of his injuries yet.“. The russian gave him an incredulously look before he started shouting at the tall scotsman: „Enough with the games, Seamus! Only the four of you have arrived at Hereford. Noone headed to the infirmary. What is this supposed to tell me? Did you leave his body in France or is it in the helicopter?“, Tachanka snorted angrily while getting closer to Seamus. Sledge took hold of Alexsandr’s shoulders and Jäger wasn’t sure whether he wanted to make Tachanka listen to his next words or simply tried to avoid getting punched in the face. „Alexsandr, we assume that Maxim is alive, okay? Twitch bend the heavens to have him treated in France“. Tachanka looked puzzled. „But... that is not possible. How....?“ Twitch stepped in and tried to explain briefly what had happened: „Look, Alexsandr, Maxim got shot in the abdomen and was bleeding profusely. He was going into shock and clearly couldn’t make it back to Hereford. But we managed to have him treated by our friend Gustave at a military hospital in France. And now we are waiting...“ Tachanka’s expression became even more puzzled. „But rainbow members can’t be treated in hospitals when on covert missions... And Doc is not working at a hospitial right now, he is teaching medics under field conditions in...“ „While all of that is true, Twitch made it possible.“, Pulse stated and Sledge added: „ But we mustn’t talk about this now. We haven’t had our debriefing yet and some of us will face disciplinary proceedings. The less information is leaked, the better.“ With that they left Tachanka behind, each of them sneaking into their room. 

Jäger, Sledge and Pulse were in the communal shower. The hot water was comforting their sore muscles while the three men let their thoughts run free.   
„Do you think he will be fine?“, Pulse finally broke the silence. „I hope so. In the end he seemed okay, didn’t he?“, Jäger wondered. „Yeah, that’s what ketamine does. Makes you seem okay, but you’re still completely wrecked.“, Sledge stated bluntly before continuing „I really hope he’ll make it, otherwise I’m really not sure how Twitch will react.“  
Jäger asked :„Do you think she will be in a lot of trouble?“„I don’t know. Mike is really into this whole ‚authority and chain of command thing’, but he also sets great store by comradeship and courage.“ Sledge pondered. „Yeah, he kind of likes people that don’t back down. But he also hates being contradicted.“, Pulse added. „At least he considered the idea and he convinced Six. Kind of makes me believe that Twitch might get away with murder.“, Sledge concluded. „Not sure if she really cares about consequences. She got pretty caught up in it. I have no idea how she would handle bad news- like the worst case...“, Jäger interjected and Sledge nodded: „Twitch can’t do things by half. The moment she saw Kapkan fighting for his life it was her fight as well. And she really works herself up into things. But that’s not a bad thing. She managed to get Kapkan into hospital and personally I have to admit that I didn’t think he could get there alive.“  
„Me neither.“, Jäger affirmed and Pulse agreed: „You never know, it’s not over until it’s over. But I agree that it was definetly not looking good.“   
Sledge tried his best to reassure his team mates. "It was not looking good. But we did our best. I just want you to remember that no matter what might happen in the next hours, we can't help it. We all did everything we could and we all hope that Maxim will make it. But sometimes it is not within our power.“

 

Twitch was back in her room after taking a very long shower. She was still feeling agitated, but a little more her usual self. She closed the curtains and sat back on the bed, her hair still wet from showering. The french woman didn’t really know what to do with herself. She felt that everything she could do was waiting. Waiting for news from Doc and Kapkan, waiting for debriefing and waiting for Thatcher’s lecture on her misconduct. Usually the prospect of disciplinary consequences would have been terrible for the conscientious rainbow member, but after the events of today she was only concerned about Kapkan. She knew that her GIGN colleague and friend Doc was really good at curing any sorts of injuries, but she was aware that Kapkan was severely injured and they might have lost too much time. Being alone and having time to make up all kinds of scenarios drove Emmanuelle crazy but she couldn’t decide to join the other rainbow members. If Tachanka had seen that only four of the five had returned, the others probably did too and Twitch didn’t feel like running into anyone.  
She heard a knock at the door and cringed. „Emma, it’s me. Can I come in?“, she heard a familiar voice asking. It was Gilles Touré, her GIGN colleague and close quarter combat specialist at team rainbow, also known as Montagne.   
„Come in!“, she said, already relaxing. Montagne entered her room, carrying a tray with dinner. „I just wanted to see how you’re holding up... Thought you might be hungry.“, he said and placed the tray on her table. „Sorry, I know you don’t like this casserole. But I managed to save some desert for you.“ Exactly why we call him the gentle giant, she thought. „I’m sorry, I must have lost track of time.“, she answered, not looking her team mate in the eye but ultimately realizing how hungry she was.„If you say so. But I could also understand if you didn’t want to bump into the other team members.“, Montagne said frankly. „Maybe a little bit of both“, she admitted, now looking up to the tall man. „Sit down“, Twitch said, pointing at her bed and Montagne sat next to her, after grabbing the plate from the table. Twitch started munching immediately. „So, who is visiting right now? Montagne the CQC trainer, or Gilles, the friend?“„I came as a friend, why do you ask?“the tall frenchman wanted to know. „I’m in a whole lot of trouble“, Twitch confessed. „What for?“, Montagne inquired, studying Twitch carefully. „Disobeying Thatcher.“, she finally answered after swallowing her dinner. „Never a good idea.“, Montagne answered bemused. „And what he doesn’t know yet is that I gave Kapkan medication.“, Twitch added meekly and earned a worried look in return. „What was it?“, Montagne probed. „Ketamine and midazolam.“, she informed her colleague without hesitation. „Those are prescription-only medicines. How did you even know it was in the helicopter?“, Montagne asked, his voice thick with concern. „Doc told me to look for it.“, Twitch answered. „So maybe we can still argue that you were somehow under competent supervision“ , Montagne pondered and exhaled deeply. He was already trying to come up with a defense strategy for this younger team mate. „I don’t know. Just hope this turns out well for Maxim.“, Twitch sighed. „Please don’t think that I just came here for gossip... But ... what happened?“, Montagne finally spoke. „There’s rumour, isn’t it?“, Twitch huffed. „Well, there was some but Seamus managed to clear up a few things.“, Montagne began to explain. „So what it your level of information?“, Twitch wanted to know. „The mission was completed successfully, but obviously only four of you have returned. There have been wild speculations on this, most were convinced that Maxim is dead. Seamus told us that he remained in France for urgent medical assistance, but of course we all know that this usually doesn’t happen. Personally I’m not sure whether the speculations will end now. But I’m curious for your version of events.“, he concluded.   
Twitch sighed but finally started to give Montagne the information he needed: „Maxim got shot in the abdomen. Sledge managed to carry him to the helicopter were we started attending his wound, it really didn’t look too bad to begin with, but it turned out that we couldn’t control the bleeding. Totally underestimated his injury. There was no way he would make it back to Hereford so I turned to Thatcher and urged him to organize medical help nearby. Said he couldn’t do it, old sod.“ Twitch snorted disdainfully.  
„Emma, you know that I really don’t like to instruct you, but being in Thatcher’s position requires making tough and unpopular decisions. This was certainly hard for Thatcher, you know that he always wants to bring home everyone safely. But when hell breaks loose, he is the one to keep a clear head and make rational decisions.“, Montagne pointed out. „Of course he can take rational decisions easily when Maxim is perishing in my arms and not his.“, Twitch spat out. „Relax, Emma. I see your point. Just want you to see Thatcher’s. His hands were tied but he found a way to get Maxim the help he needed.“, Montagne tried to explain to his younger team mate. „I really don’t want to imagine that Maxim might pass away.“, Twitch said, her voice cracking as tears filled up her eyes. Montagne put his arm around her, which definitively made her burst into tears. „I didn’t want to cry in front of you!“, she admitted, wiping the tears from her face. „Relax, it’s okay. Happens to everyone of us.“, Montagne said as patient and understanding as always.

The recreational room was well-attended. Most of the rainbow members were there waiting for news. It was quieter than usual, nobody was in the mood for trivial conversations. Thatcher had not been seen since the return of Pulse, Jäger, Sledge and Twitch. He had withdrawn from the rest of the team to deal with organizational measures in his office. Twitch was still in her room, but Tachanka was in the recreation room with Timur „Glaz“ Glazkov and Shuhrat „Fuze“ Kessikbayev. The members of the spetsnaz unit were sitting on the couch, looking quite tensed. Alexsandr Senaviev had put his pokerface back on. One could almost forget the outburst of emotion he had a few hours ago, but Sledge hadn’t. He kept a close eye on him and the other spetsnaz members. The silence was interrupted when Twitch entered the room. She felt herself being the center of attention, looking around uncomfortably. Suddenly it didn’t seem like a good idea anymore to avoid her team colleagues the whole afternoon. She had no idea what they knew or didn’t know about the whole mission. Gladly nobody said a word, which meant that she needn’t either. Twitch was still looking for a place to go when she saw Alexsandr beckoning to her. A few moments later she found herself in the middle of the spetsnaz crew on the couch. Then the agonozing waiting continued.


	5. news on the hunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some news on our injured hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that the continuation took me so long but life has been a struggle lately. The next chapter will be longer and is already in the making.

Gustave „Doc“ Kateb left the operating room. The collar of his disposable scrub was drenched in sweat and the formerly blue fabric was bloodied. The medic looked exhausted. As he took a deep breath he felt a soft pat on his shoulder. The anasthesiologist that he had been working with the past hours caught up on Doc and gave him an encouraging smile as he walked past him. Kapkan’s state of health had kept him as well as the anaesthesiologist worried the whole time. They had needed a large amount of blood reserves to keep Kapkan’s body working. Though Doc knew that Kapkan wasn’t out of harm’s way it was a huge success that he made it out of surgery without further complications. They would have to wait the night and see how Kapkan’s body was coping. While Doc was still standing in the corridor he was approached by a young nurse. „We are now taking him to the PACU.“, she informed Dr. Kateb. „You should take some rest.“, she advised gently. The french medic shook his head. “„I need to make a phonecall but I’ll be right back.“ The nurse seemed to understand. „We’ll need a few minutes to hook him up to monitors but we should be finished when you come back.“, she finally said. „Merci“. „He is a friend of yours, isn’t he?“, the nurse asked him with a smile that expressed genuine concern. „Yes, he is.“, Doc nodded.

Meanwhile at Hereford Base Mike „Thatcher“ Baker was hunched over his desk. It was already late but during his career he had made it a habit to stay up until he received news from the last member that wasn’t lucky enough to make it home unharmed. Tonight he was waiting for a status update on Maxim Basuda. He sat back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes when he was startled by the ringing of his telephone. Thatcher glanced over to the telephone apparatus. The number on the display told him everything he needed to know. The area code was from France. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the worst when he answered the phone. 

Thatcher : „How is Maxim? Is there anything I should prepare the team for?“  
Doc: „We are carefully optimistic but you know that I don’t make any promises. The next hours are crucial. Surgery took much longer than intended, bullet had done more damage than we thought initially. We almost exhausted the hospital’s entire supply of Maxim’s blood group while operating on him.“  
Thatcher: „That sounds like a tough job. Is there a chance that he will recover from this?“  
Doc: „We’re not talking about recovery, we’re talking about making it through the night.“  
Thatcher[inhales sharply]: „....“  
Doc: „Maxim is about to have a very bad night and I’d rather be around when the anesthetics wear off. He will be miserable when he wakes up. He’s on ketamine, some other anesthetics, pain meds, something to stabilize his circulation. He’s all drugged up. He has received anxiolytic drugs to dampen the effects of agitation and anxiety but considering his past and the violence he has seen in his life I expect him to experience severe side effects like hallucinations, confusion and terrors.“  
Thatcher: „Yeah, I guess you should go and take care of him. He needs you right now.“  
Doc: „I want him to see a familiar face when he wakes up. And besides, I don’t think it would be a good idea to have a nurse handle someone like Maxim in this state. He is seriously wounded but he is still a well-trained and dangerous man.“  
Thatcher: Yeah I get that. Must be very confusing for Maxim...“  
Doc: „One last question Mike... Has anyone been seeing Emma?“  
Thatcher: „Gilles took care of her. Even made sure she ate. I would have checked on her myself but I’ve got a buttload of work and you know why that is.“  
Doc: „It was the right thing to do.“  
Thatcher: „Yes it was.“


End file.
